Russell Wilson thanks God despite Super Bowl loss
PHOENIX (Christian Examiner) – Despite a tough loss to the New England Patriots because of an interception on the goal line, Christian Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson still found a reason to thank God for the opportunity to go to the Super Bowl back to back. He and his team lost to the Seahawks 28-24 because of a questionable play call and an incredible defensive play by Patriots rookie Malcolm Butler.
"Thank You God for the opportunity," Wilson wrote in a Twitter post after the game. "We'll be back ... I will never waiver on who He has called me to be. ... Thanks 12s #GoHawks."
Though many have noted Wilson's great performance during the game – the quarterback ran several times for serious yardage throughout the game – even more lambasted head coach Pete Carroll and his coaching staff for the choice of the Seahawks' last play. Just one yard away shy of the end zone, Carroll chose to call a short passing play instead of giving it to Marshawn "Beast Mode" Lynch, one of the toughest running backs in the NFL.
"That was the worst play call I've seen in the history of football," Emmitt Smith wrote on his Facebook page. The sentiment was liked 137,000 times.
Wilson, though, told reporters that he believed Carroll made the right call.
"I've watched a lot of games and been in a lot of games and it always hurts to lose no matter how you lose it. It doesn't matter how you win it. You just wanna score one more point than they do. There were so many things we could have done throughout the game I think just to solidify a potential win for us but it didn't happen for us," Wilson told reporters at a press conference.
"You could hand the ball to Marshawn, that's a great option. You can also throw it, which is a great option. We thought we had 'em. I thought I was going to make a touchdown when I threw it, when I let it go I thought it was gonna be game over. ... When they called the call I just trusted it like I always do, and just trusted us, trust my instincts, trust the play and there wasn't really anything else that we could do," he added. "I put the blame on me. I'm the one that threw it. It's something you learn from, something you grow from."
Carroll said that Butler made a "great play," but did not apologize for the call. Butler said he was just "blessed" to be in the right place at the right time.
"I just had a vision that I was going to make a big play. And it came true and I'm just blessed. I can't explain it right now," said the rookie.